


The Eighth Deadly Sin

by CHAEXNNIE



Category: BLACKPINK (Band)
Genre: Angst, But also, Dystopia, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Forbidden Love, M/M, Model!Lisa, Multi, Soulmates, acab tho, actress!Jisoo, but not really, cop!jennie, criminal!lisa, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21526126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CHAEXNNIE/pseuds/CHAEXNNIE
Summary: In the year 3016, rules have been put in place by South Korea's now Catholic government in order to prevent divorce. those rules including everyone's name being put into an algorithm that calculates their one true love: their soulmate. Park Chaeyoung, a nobody who has the job of inputting people's names into the algorithm, finds her life flipped upside down when she is tasked with inputting Kim Jisoo's, South Korea's sweetheart, name into the database.Meanwhile, Lisa Manoban is struggling to scrape by as an undiscovered model, so in order to survive she undertakes a secret life of crime. Jennie Kim is a beat cop trying to make a name for herself, and when she hears of a sudden increase of pickpocketing and petty crime around her block she naturally decides to investigate.
Relationships: Jennie Kim/Everyone, Jennie Kim/Kim Jisoo, Jennie Kim/Kim Jisoo/Lalisa Manoban | Lisa/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé, Jennie Kim/Lalisa Manoban | Lisa, Jennie Kim/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé, Kim Jisoo/Lalisa Manoban | Lisa, Kim Jisoo/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé, Lalisa Manoban | Lisa/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	1. CUPID

Lisa Manoban found life to be incredibly off-putting. Several years ago, she had made the foolish decision to dropout of high school and attempt to succeed as a model. She certainly had the looks to make it, as well as the talent, but unfortunately South Korea had the racial acceptance equivalent to the United States, so most agencies weren't particularly enthusiastic about taking on a, no matter how beautiful, immigrant Thai woman.

She had accepted that harsh reality a year after she dropped out, so instead she had decided to shoot her own photos. Lisa had dreams of getting her pictures published in a Thai magazine, but there had been no such luck even three years after dropping out. Somehow, she still hadn't given up, and luckily for her neither had Park Chaeyoung: her best friend and camera woman.

The two had known eachother since they were in junior school, and ever since they had first spoken they'd been as thick as thieves. Chaeyoung had been weary about Lisa first dropping out, but nonetheless she had continued to support her even years later, and the Thai woman couldn't be any more grateful for that.

"You ever consider a different job?"

"Huh?"

Chaeyoung and Lisa were currently out on a break from their shoot and enjoying a snack in a nearby cafe, talking about non-important things such as the latest episode of Arthdal Chronicles (although that was incredibly important to Chaeyoung), when the elder of the two had dropped the bomb of a question.

There had only been two other times when Chaeyoung had questioned Lisa's career choice: the first was when Lisa had first mentioned the idea of dropping out to her friend, and the second had been the very day Lisa had dropped out. It had been an unspoken rule not to ask this question as it would practically be implying that Lisa could not make it in the modelling world.

"I don't mean you should, it's just something I'm curious about." Chaeyoung had seemed to notice the heartbroken look in Lisa's eyes at the assumption her best friend didn't believe in her, "Like, I know you love photography, but instead you choose to be in front of the camera instead of behind it... why?"

Lisa supposed she could understand the reasoning behind the question: it had just caught her so off guard. She shrugged, placing her cup of coffee down on the table as she spoke, "It's just a confidence thing. I feel like another person in front of a camera— it's my way of performing for thousands by just performing in front of one."

Nodding, Chaeyoung took a drink of her hot chocolate. Despite the fact she couldn't completely grasp the logic, she was happy with Lisa's answer as long as Lisa herself was happy doing something she loved, and to Chaeyoung it seemed like Lisa loved her job a whole lot. It made her wonder if the Thai would still feel the same if she was actually making money for it.

"What about you?"

"Me? What about me?" The sudden flipping of the question caught Chaeyoung off guard, and for a brief moment she looked to be a deer caught in headlights. She looked around, as if checking that she was the only one that Lisa could possible be asking, and the Thai woman scoffed playfully.

"Who else would I be asking?" Lisa chuckled, "I just mean, have you not ever considered another job?"

Rolling her eyes, Chaeyoung let out a deep sigh as she leaned closer to Lisa. She lowered her voice to the point it was barely audible, her eyes darting around cautiously to make sure no one was listening, "You know I can't talk about it."

Lisa matched her friend's actions, bringing their faces so close to the point she could feel Chaeyoung's warm breath against her face and smell the hot chocolate she'd just been drinking. Not the best smell in the world, truth be told, but she was sure the coffee on her own breath smelt ten times worse— and beggars can't be choosers.

"I know." Lisa husked, a playful smile quirking at her lips, "But please~?"

The begging tone of Lisa's words made it hard for Chaeyoung to say no, and the older girl had to shake her head with disbelief. This was how it always went; Lisa would ask about Chaeyoung's job, Chaeyoung would say no, Lisa would beg and then Chaeyoung would give in and tell her whatever she'd wanted to know. Yet this... Chaeyoung was sure that if she said something particularly bad she could be imprisoned, or, worse, executed.

"Lisa." Chaeyoung chided, letting her head hang slightly, "Fine. Maybe I have considered another job at some point, but who hasn't? It's not like I dreamt of pairing up soulmates all day when I don't even get to have my own."

Lisa smiled softly, "Only three more weeks, Chaeyoung, and then you'll be twenty one and free to find your soulmate."

"Three weeks is too long to wait. I just want to know who he is already so I can get to know him." Shrugging, Chaeyoung took another sip of her hot chocolate, wincing at the sour taste, "Why do we keep coming here? The drinks are unbearable."

Lisa's mouth opened as she shielded her tea from Chaeyoung's sight, placing a facade of shock on her face, "What! Speak for yourself, Ms Park, my tea is delicious." She put on a wry smile as she lifted the cup to her lips, blowing lightly on the still-steaming liquid, before taking a drink.

She was unable to stop her face from contorting into an array of expressions, ranging from disgust to surprise, "Howdid it somehow get worse in a matter of minutes? Did you poison my drink?"

Laughing, Chaeyoung grabbed her purse and stepped out of her seat, "I'll be back in a sec; I just need to use the toilet."

Lisa nodded, watching with a soft smile on her face as Chaeyoung left to do her business. She shook her head gently, still dazed as to how she'd managed to bag a best friend like Chaeyoung. The two had started off in completely different social circles; Chaeyoung had been a social butterfly, even from a young age, whereas Lisa was a shy, anxious little girl that had struggled to so much as raise her hand in class.

Luckily for her there had been twists and turns, some good and some bad, in the road to the present which had resulted in the two finally holding a conversation and realising they had much more in common than both being foreigners. For one, they both loved animals. Okay, cats were different to fish, but you still had to look after them. Secondly—

As Lisa continued to list the things she had discovered about her best friend in her mind, Chaeyoung was sat in the toilet stall. She hadn't actually been needing the toilet but she had been in dire need of posting on her fanpage: something that Lisa didn't, and never would, know about.

Her fingers tapped quickly as she captioned the post, wanting to be able to finish as soon as possible so she could get back to friend. Chaeyoung reread what she had written once again, nodding with a satisfied smile as she posted, reasoning that she'd tag the post later.

Oh how she wished Kim Jisoo would know of her existence: it was her dream. Yet then again, it was also everyone else's dream.

Kim Jisoo was South Korea's sweetheart after having made a name for herself a few years back in 'Imagine Me & You', a cheesy film about a bride falling in love with the female florist supplying the flowers at her wedding. The writing was cheesy but somehow Jisoo had made it into a beautiful love story between two women.

It was a daring film, perse, especially considering that it didn't follow today's modern rules of having an approved soulmate, but it was received well and went down in history as one of the most well known same sex films out there. Ever since she had watched it, Chaeyoung had an unreasonable obsession with the main actress— none other than Jisoo herself.

She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the woman that seemed to always occupy her thoughts, as she quickly left the stall and washed her hands. Just as she was beginning to dry them, the bathroom door burst open and in came Lisa, her face flushed and her chest heaving.

"Lisa?" Chaeyoung asked, "What's wrong?"

"Wom—" Lisa panted, gasping uncontrollably with a mixture of panic and adrenaline, "Po— Psych—"

She didn't have to say anything else before Chaeyoung had rushed out the restroom and through the cafe, receiving annoyed looksfrom bystanders. Lisa dashed out after her, seeing her friend just slipping through the front door.

Lisa sometimes hated the fact that Chaeyoung was so athletic. She rolled her eyes yet darted past people in the cafe, apologising occasionally to the people she disturbed. They'd probably be banned after this, but who cares? The drinks were horrible, anyways.

"What are you doing?"

Just as she pushed past the door, Lisa could hear Chaeyoung's shouts from in the middle of the road. She looked to her friend and saw her watching the scene infront of them, her face full of panic and worry.

In the middle of the road, blocking all cars, were four people: one woman and three men. The woman was curled up on the floor, howling in pain as two men brutally unleashed their entire force upon her with batons. Blood stained her bleached-blonde hair as she cried for mercy, feeling her skull throb numbly with every hit.

It felt like one more strike would crack it open, leaving her for dead in the middle of the street. The other man stood on the sidelines, unable to do anything but watch as the woman was bludgeoned to, what would surely be, a horrific death.

The two officers, Psyches, as Lisa had called them, ignored Chaeyoung's shouts for them to stop as they continued striking down on the woman like brutal hail, smashing the metal against her body relentlessly.

Lisa looked around in a daze of panic, seeing people holding their phones up as they recorded the dreadful scene like it were a mere movie, "What the hell are you guys doing?" She stormed towards the watchers, waving her hands wildly in front of the camera and knocking a few cameras out of their hands, "This is real life— not some play to fulfill your sick fantasies! Get out of here!"

Scowling, the people grabbed their phones and scurried away. Probably to find somewhere else to watch, Lisa thought with a glower on her face, her eyes shifting around to see if anyone had ignored her command.

Satisfied that no one had, her eyes returned to the situation at hand. She rushed into the road as Chaeyoung tried to reason with the officers, yet they didn't respond to her words... at all. In fact it seemed as though Chaeyoung wasn't speaking at all: they did not so much as flinch at her screams, nor did they flinch at the innocent woman they were currently brutalising when she let out an ear-piercing shriek.

"Hey! Hey!" Lisa shouted at the Psyches, waving her hands around them, "Stop hitting her!"

She knew her words would have no affect on them, but it was the best she could do without getting herself hit. Lisa looked to Chaeyoung with distress painted on her face, "Can't you do something? You're a matchmaker, you should have some sort of power, right?"

Chaeyoung looked between the woman and the Psyches, then to the man watching from the sidelines, his expression absolutely shattered— as if he had given up on life. She bit her lip, looking at Lisa with confliction, "I don't know... Lis." She sighed, "I don't even know what she's done; she could deserve this!"

"No one deserves this!"

Lisa's erruption surprised Chaeyoung, never knowing her friend to explode so suddenly. Lisa ran a hand through her hair, trying to block out the world around her: the woman's screams, the sound of bones shattering and batons raining down like hail upon a windscreen. It was all too much for her.

"C'mon, Chae." Her voice broke as she spoke, and Lisa grabbed Chaeyoung's hands pleadingly, "For me? Please— I'm begging you to try and save her."


	2. ARROWS

Her eyes darted between Lisa and the Psyches, two possible paths rushing through her mind. One, she could stand by and do nothing: the woman would die but she would get out unharmed... spare a guilty conscience. Two, she could try and stop the Psyches by using her matchmaker position: she could be fired and jailed, perhaps even executed, for treason, but she could also save a life.

Both option weighed heavy in her mind, but another look at Lisa's pleading expression and Chaeyoung had already settled the matter. She took a deep breath, preparing herself, before throwing her body infront of the onslaught of violence.

The batons immediately stopped, not landing so much as a hit on Chaeyoung as the Psyches looked at her in confusion, "Please move out of the way, miss." The one that spoke was the slightly shorter one of the two, his eyes shielded by the helmet and and it's black-out screen. Despite the fact his body was covered in mostly bulky gear and strapped with weapons, Chaeyoung could see his intimidating build despite it.

The slightly taller, more lanky, man nodded with a grunt, placing a firm hand on Chaeyoung's shoulder and attempting to move her out the way. Swaying slightly, Chaeyoung folded her arms and shook her head, refusing to move another inch, "No. I will not get out of your way until you can tell me why on earth you're brutalising this poor woman."

"She is a sinner, miss." The shorter Psyche explained. His voice was robotic: cold. It sent chills down Lisa's spine, "She was caught in an intimate position with a man that was not her soulmate; she must be corrected. That is our job."

Chaeyoung frowned, "Well why aren't you punishing him? As a Psyche, it is your job to punish the initiating party, are you even sure she should be the one being punished?" She hated to blame another innocent party, but getting that woman medical help as soon as she was free was her first priority.

"We have a witness stating she initiated the contact, miss." This time the taller man responded, folding his arms over his chest in the tight uniform, "And who are you to be questioning our judgement: are you aware that obstructing a Psyche in the pursuit of justice is a crime punishable by prison time?"

"I'm well aware of that— considering I'm a matchmaker." Chaeyoung wished the helmets weren't blocking her view of their faces so she could see the shocked expression on their faces, "And are you sure that this could be considered justice? As far as I'm aware it's brutality, atleast, if not attempted murder."

The taller of the two stepped forward slightly, jostled by Chaeyoung's truthfully sharp words, yet the other Psyche held a hand out, stopping him in his path, "I trust that if we leave her to you, you will correctly discipline her... yes?"

Nodding firmly, Chaeyoung looked to Lisa with a hopeful smile, watching as her best friend's distraught expression slowly morphed into a gleeful grin. The Psyche sighed and wrapped his arm around his partner's shoulder, dragging him away without so much as looking back.

As soon as the two were out of sight Lisa rushed into the road and onto her knees, her eyes scanning over the woman, "Can you tell me your name?" She asked, clutching her hand with the hopes she'd make it.

The woman opened her mouth to speak but no words came out—

"Jihyo!" The onwatching man exclaimed, crouching at the side of the dreary woman, "Are you okay? Can you hear me? Jihyo?" 

His expression fell when there was no response, and Chaeyoung quickly grabbed her phone and dialled the ambulance, gnawing her lip with anxiety. She could feel her blood pumping throughout her body, and every sound around her suddenly felt a thousand times amplified.

Eventually, the unbearable whirring of an ambulance siren brought her back to reality, and Chaeyoung realised she'd dissociated. She looked over to the blaring lights, seeing paramedics wheel Jihyo's body into the ambulance as the man stayed by her side, softly stroking her forehead.

"I'm going to need you to come down to the precinct later and fill out a witness statement, miss."

Chaeyoung turned, not even having noticed the arrival of the police. She shook her head, figuring she should've known they'd get involved with something like this, "Um, yeah. Sure." She shrugged, looking over to Lisa and having a (what she assumed) similar conversation with another officer.

The rest of his words didn't even process in her mind, and finally he handed his business card over to her. Kim Hyojong, it read. He waved goodbye and the police officer by Lisa did the same, following her partner into a squad car as they drove away.

The forensic team would be on the scene shortly so the two figured it'd be best to leave whilst they could. Lisa grabbed Chaeyoung's arm and dragged her out of the road and down the pathway, not bothering to watch as officers rolled yellow tape around the lamp-posts and placed cones by the blood spatters.

It would be agonising for Chaeyoung if she were forced to watch; the scene would replay in her mind until she was driven absolutely insane by the fact that she had stood and watched as the woman was beaten to a bloody pulp, only for her to interfere at a time that, could be, too late.

Lisa understood this and continued to drag her friend down the street, not letting her to get as much as another glimpse at where the most horrific sight she had ever seen had taken place, until they were on a completely different road and just outside the storage unit that they used for their shoots.

She looked over to Chaeyoung, seeing the same expression of horror on her face as the one that had been on Lisa's when she had first caught sight of the brutality. Lisa reached out, placing her hands gently on Chaeyoung's shoulders, only to get no bodily response. It was if she had shut down from the world around her and was stuck in the hell caused by her own brain.

"Chaeyoung." Lisa's voice was soft─ as if she were talking to a child or a grieving family member, "It's okay."

It wasn't.

"You did everything you could."

She didn't.

"It's not your fault."

It was.

"She's going to be alright."

Chaeyoung pulled away from Lisa, shaking her head lightly. It was almost like such a small action was draining her of all, if any, left-over energy she had, "She's not, Lisa. She won't ever be alright."

"She's alive, isn't she?"

"For now." Chaeyoung sighed, running a hand through her hair, "And if she does survive, then what? She's lost all faith in the soulmate system, Lisa, and she'll only ever rebel more and then she'll be dead."

Lisa sighed as she reached into her pocket and grabbed the storage unit key. She unlocked the door and pulled it up, leading Chaeyoung inside, before rolling it back down again. The dingy lights flickered on as Lisa spoke, "It doesn't seem like she had much in the first place, honestly. She was with someone that wasn't her soulmate, and if that doesn't say hopeless to you then I don't know what will."

"Are you blaming her─ after you told me that no one would deserve such treatment?"

"No. Of course not." Lisa shook her head, knowing that Chaeyoung had completely missed her point, "This is what will save her. Now that she understands the repercussions of disobeying the system she'll know that her true soulmate is what's best for her. Cupid's match is God's will... right?"

Chaeyoung nodded and a smile slowly blossomed on her face, "Right."

She saw Lisa's point but her stomach refused to stop twisting and turning, and for a moment Chaeyoung found herself questioning whether Cupid's match really was God's will─ but that was a foolish question. Of course it was God's will: it prevented divorce and made people truly happy.

Jihyo had to have felt happy.

────

Chaeyoung and Lisa found themselves in the police precinct an hour or so later. Convincing the plump officer on desk-duty that they were meant to be there was hard until Hyojong, the officer that Chaeyoung had talked to earlier, had showed up and said they were in the right place.

Lisa had stuck her tongue out at the plump man, much to his chagrin, and surprisingly Hyojong had laughed. Chaeyoung immediately felt more comfortable knowing she was around someone who wouldn't always be so serious, but perhaps that was just the trusting side of her.

He guided the two of them into a small corridor, meeting his partner inside it, "Sorry I don't know your names, but can you─" He pointed to Chaeyoung, "please follow me. And you─" He gestured to Lisa, "please follow my partner: Hyuna."

Chaeyoung flashed Lisa a reassuring smile as she followed Hyojong into an interview room. The man flicked the bright lights on and Chaeyoung found herself staring at her reflection in the mirror on the wall.

"Sorry we have to use the interrogation rooms." Hyojong chuckled as he pulled out a chair, gesturing for Chaeyoung to sit in front of him, "All the interview rooms are full; it's been a bit of a hectic day."

Chaeyoung turned to Hyojong, "You get many Psyches beating on innocent women?"

Raising his hands in surrender, Hyojong watched as Chaeyoung made her way to the metal chair and sat down opposite of him. She leaned on the table casually, her eyes narrowing as she stared at him.

"Well, from what other witnesses are saying, it doesn't seem she was exactly innocent. More like, she was breaking the rules and the Psyches were putting her in her place." Hyojong's innocent grin dropped, instead being replaced with a slight smirk as he drummed his nails against the table.

"Psyches are only meant to use violence on an immediate mass threat to the soulmate laws."

Hyojong shrugged, "She was an immediate mass threat, as far as I'm concerned. Psyches regulate soulmates, and the 'victim' was displaying affection with a man that was neither her soulmate or her friend─ which could inspire others to do the same."

"Are you going to take my report or not?"

Sighing, Hyojong stood up and left the room, returning a moment later with a few sheets of paper. He threw them carelessly on the table and then tossed a pen aswell, "Write down everything you claimed to have seen. Don't lie, either, or you'll be breaking the law."

Chaeyoung glared at Hyojong before looking down on the paper and scribbling her name and the date. Her eyes glanced up and down the page as she started to write down exactly what she'd seen. From the screams to stop to the blood spattering against the hard floor, she'd make sure they knew exactly what had happened.

They had to.

In the next room over Lisa was in a similar position. Hyuna's watchful eyes burned into her skull as she wrote what she'd seen down on the paper, making sure not to forget a single detail. The pen felt heavy in her hand but she continued to let the ink flow, knowing that if she didn't tell the story then there'd be no chance that the Psyches would be prosecuted.

Hyuna let out a loud sigh that Lisa tried to ignore, tired of the woman's childish tactics to get her to drop the case. It had been obvious the second she stepped into the room that this was no witness report: it was an interrogation and character assassination.

Her every move was being recorded by the small, blinking camera in the upper corner of the room, which was exactly why she couldn't lose her temper and voice her annoyance towards the officer.

She wondered how Chaeyoung was coping with Hyojong. No doubt she was getting the same treatment, but Lisa's friend had always been quick to boil over no matter the situation. Infact, if Chaeyoung was in Lisa's position with Hyuna she probably would've punched the older woman by now.

Hell, even Lisa was close to doing it. Instead she chose to drop her pen and shoot Hyuna a fiery glare, making it known that she was sick and tired of the mind games the woman had chosen to play, "Can you please stop that. For the love of God. I'm begging."

Hyuna sneered, obviously happy she'd gotten under Lisa's skin, "I don't know what you're on about." She leaned back in the metal chair, folding her arms smugly against her chest, "Get back to writing that report."

Lisa was the one that sighed, this time, but nevertheless she did as she was told and picked her pen back up. 

Five minutes passed of Hyuna sighing obnoxiously and Lisa practically getting on her knees telling her to stop, but both heads turned to the interrogation room door when there was a loud knock.

Lisa almost fell out of her seat when another woman walked in. She was too wrapped up in the reports she was reading to notice someone other than Hyuna in the room, and Lisa took that as her opportunity to stare.

She was around the same size as Hyuna, probably around five foot four or so, but upon second glance Lisa noticed the two inch boots she was wearing. That was good: Lisa liked women smaller than her. Her eyes eventually landed on the woman's face and she was awestruck by her beauty.

With fox-like eyes and soft pink lips, the woman was practically a living goddess.. Her dark brown hair fell to her mid-back like ocean waves, effortlessly flowing, and her skin was pale, if not slightly-tanned. If Lisa had to describe her in two words she'd say the woman was utter perfection.

Right on cue the woman looked up, catching Lisa's staring, and the Thai's eyes snapped away as a fierce blush began to spread. The stranger tilted her head curiously, staring at Lisa even as she began to speak. 

All Lisa could focus on was the way her voice sounded like honey, wrapping her in a thick blanket of warmth and comfort as it slowed her racing heart: it only quickened again when she returned her eyes back to the stranger. 

The words rushed past her ear like summer breeze, not even processing in her mind as she was too concerned with remembering every single detail about this mysterious woman: the way she tucked a single strand of coffee-coloured hair behind her ear as she read something off a sheet she was carrying; the way she paused every so often to make sure she was reading a word correctly, a melodious laugh escaping her parted lips whenever she realised she had made a mistake.

And last, but certainly not least, the way her dimples appeared when she made eye contact with Lisa once again, a slow smile spreading upon her face. What was this feeling? Butterflies beat their wings wildly in her stomach and Lisa's heart flipped a dozen times over─ her mind wandered back to all the stories she'd read.

Lisa had always been a bit of a bookworm, always finding a new story to read (or sometimes to write) and becoming absolutely obsessed with the words printed boldly on the page. If she had enough money she would've opened up her own book store and lived out her days selling tales of old to young children that reminded her of herself, but sadly that was another fairy tale that would never come true.

Just like this love at first sight.

Hyuna sighed, cutting off the woman in the middle of her sentence, and Lisa looked in confusion. She furrowed her brows, wondering how on earth Hyuna was interrupting someone with a presence that commanded the entire room.

"Jennie, would you mind waiting outside for a bit?" 

Jennie.

Lisa's grin grew tenfold at the revelation, glad that she would leave with knowing at least one thing about this woman. Jennie. Such a pretty name for an even prettier woman. Was it short for Jennifer, or was it just Jennie? If it was a nickname, who first called her it? Does it have any sentimental meaning? Is that even her real name? Lisa wanted to know everything about her: her routines, how she looked when she first woke up, what she was like, how she liked her coffee.

She had never felt such a strong pull just from looking at someone. Sure, she'd found men physically attractive─ never women─ but this was a whole other level. It seemed as though their hearts were one, and the moment their eyes locked Lisa knew she was done.

She had already lost the war with the heart.


	3. HEAVEN

Jennie nodded, bowing and mumbling a quick apology as she left the room, but all Lisa could think was 'wait, come back! Don't leave me'. Her heart fell when the door shut behind Jennie, anger towards Hyuna for making her leave slowly bubbling within Lisa's chest.

This whole ordeal had been nightmarish to her, and it was arguably one of the worst times in her life, yet within all this chaos she had found an untainted flower in the midst of blossoming─ and then Hyuna had to come in and stomp on the only peek of colour in this bleek, monochrome day.

There was no more sun shining down on Jennie, causing her to shrivel and whither away as Hyuna's unrelenting boots continued to stomp on her. Lisa wanted to beg for mercy, to scream at her to stop, but upon second glance she realised that Jennie would never blossom infront of her again and that she'd missed her only opportunity to bask in it all.

"Let's get back to the report, shall we?"

Lisa huffed, shooting up out of her chair with a look of fury on her face. She grabbed the report and tore it up, not sparing a second thought before shouting, "You can't make me write this report─ there is nothing that legally obliges me to do this for you."

Hyuna snarled, her face twisting into an ugly display of anger, "I can arrest you for withholding evidence if you don't sit your ass back down and pick that pen back up, how would you feel about that?"

"We both know you would never do that. This isn't an investigation: it's a coverup. You want to hide the truth of Psyches abusing their power by trying to keep me silent, but that won't work. I'll tell you what happened, alright, but not through a report." Lisa rounded the table and glared down at Hyuna, "I'll tell the tabloids."

There was silence in the room as Hyuna pondered the thought. Lisa wasn't sure exactly what was running through the officer's mind, but the girl was certain that she herself was sweating bullets; that entire speech had been a false display of bravado in attempt to dissuade Hyuna from actually arresting her. Truth be told, Lisa wasn't actually sure whether or not she could be arrested.

"Alright."

"What?"

Lisa recoiled slightly as Hyuna slowly rose from her seat, a sly smirk rising with her. The older girl shrugged impassively, gesturing to the door, "Go and tell them everything. Tell them about how Miss Park was caught red-handed breaking the law, put a target on her back for the entirety of South Korea to see, and then see what happens to her... to you."

"Fuck you."

Lisa whipped around and threw the interrogation room door open, rushing down the hallway to where Chaeyoung was being questioned. She pushed inside without so much as knocking, yelling at Chaeyoung to get up and go as Hyojong screamed at her, wondering what the hell she was doing.

She didn't know herself, but Lisa wasn't about to let that stop her. She had never let the unknown get in her way of achieving whatever she desired, and she certainly wasn't going to do it now: not when it mattered most. She'd go to the news, alright, but she wouldn't tell them about Jihyo.

She'd tell them about South Korea's dirtiest cops: Hyuna and Hyojong.

Lisa grabbed Chaeyoung's arm and dragged her out of the room, the two rushing past officers that looked on in confusion. Her confidence only began to falter when she laid eyes upon her again─ upon Jennie.

Stopping dead in her tracks, Lisa's heart jumped at the sight of her. Except this time Jennie was holding a gun, pointing it directly at the two women. She shouted words at them but they didn't process in Lisa's mind: all she could focus on was the fact that this woman that she had such strong emotions for (despite not even knowing her) could now kill her with a slightest movement.

Lisa only focussed once again when another man arrived on the scene, placing a gentle arm on Jennie's shoulder and telling her to lower the gun. Jennie conceded reluctantly and tucked the gun back in the holster, narrowing her eyes in on the two girls─ lingering a second longer on Chaeyoung.

"Sorry about the misunderstanding." Jennie bowed to them, yet a small trace of skepticism remained evident on her face. Her eyes focussed on Chaeyoung once again, squinting as she analysed her features.

Chaeyoung furrowed her brows, "Do I have something on my face?"

"No." Jennie waved her hands, still focussing on Chaeyoung's face, "I'm sorry, but I swear I know you." Jennie asked, but much to Lisa's chagrin it wasn't directed to her. It was directed to Chaeyoung, her best friend. Lisa felt an unusual amount of annoyance brew inside her at the thought of Jennie and Chaeyoung having prior contact that she wasn't aware of, unsure of why she was placing Jennie about her best friend since high school.

Chaeyoung looked at Lisa, noticing her sour expression, and then to Jennie. She shook her head slightly, "I don't think you do... where do you recognise me from?"

Jennie shrugged, "I can't put my finger on it, but I'm pretty sure I follow you on instagram for some reason."

Lisa's head snapped to Chaeyoung in confusion, watching as her friend's face paled like a ghost. Chaeyoung shook her head rapidly, letting out a nervous chuckle as she scratched at the nape of her neck, "No, I don't think you do. I guess I just have a familiar face."

"Nah, I've never seen anyone as pretty as you─"

Lisa's face dropped at Jennie's slip of the mouth, her heart crashing to the ground as she watching a scarlet tint rise to the officer's face. Of course she'd be more interested in Chaeyoung: it had always been that way.

In high school it was the exact same. If Lisa liked a boy they'd start talking, and it'd always turn out that he was using her to get to Chaeyoung. No one had ever picked Lisa above Chaeyoung, and before she hadn't minded it so much.

She got why everyone loved Chaeyoung: she was absolutely breathtaking. Her face was worthy of being framed in the Louvre and she had a radiant smile that lit up the room, not to mention that she was one of the kindest people you might have the pleasure of ever meeting. Yet now she hated the fact that Jennie was picking Chaeyoung over her.

Of course she wasn't pretty enough for someone like Jennie. Yet what was the point in a love that would never bare fruit: soulmates were never same-sex matches.

"Hey, careful with my girl or I'll think you're her soulmate."

Lisa frowned upon hearing a masculine voice. It had been the man that had gotten Jennie to lower her weapon, the one that she had listened to immediately. She narrowed her eyes on his nametag: Kim Jongin.

She was fairly sure that she'd read about him in the papers, if this was the esteemed Kim Jongin they were always rattling on about. He'd done everything from saving kidnap victims to tracking down the Seoul Strangler: a serial killer that had terrorised residents of South Korea's capital for over five years. He had countless medals and honors upon his name, yet Lisa couldn't point out a single noteworthy thing about him... other than that he was lucky enough to be Jennie's soulmate.

He was good-looking, but no way near as perfect as his match. His features were soft, yet not as fair as Jennie's. His eyebrows were bushy, if not a little too bushy for Lisa's liking, but other than that he was a solid seven out of ten.

Jennie was a ten out of ten: he wasn't anywhere near good enough for her.

Lisa sneered at him as he continued to make conversation with Jennie, the two in their own world of not-so-subtle (atleast to Lisa's sharp gaze) touches and flirty gazes. Chaeyoung and Lisa were completely forgotten, so it was with a shattered heart that Lisa gently grabbed her friend's arm and weakly pulled her out the precinct.

She felt drained both physically and emotionally.

"Are you okay?"

"What?"

Lisa glanced over to Chaeyoung, seeing her staring with a concerned expression. She shuffled uncomfortably; Chaeyoung had always had eyes too sharp for her own good. 

"It's just─ you looked a bit, I don't know, dejected? Yeah, sorta dejected and sad when we left, but I can't really think of a reason why you'd feel that way." Chaeyoung shrugged and Lisa wanted to curse her name, hating the fact that her friend could read her with a single glance.

Lisa shook her head and let out a small sigh. Of course she was dejected: the woman she'd felt such a strong pull to was too busy talking to Lisa's best friend to even notice Lisa herself. Yet she wouldn't tell Chaeyoung that. 

Girls weren't meant to like girls and boys weren't meant to like girls; girls were meant to like their soulmates, and they were never other girls. Despite the fact the soulmate system had been around for just over a century only two same-sex matches had been recorded, but for some reason Lisa figured that there were alot more secret loves.

And neither of those couples had a happy ending.

Everyone figured it was a glitch in the otherwise-perfect system, so they kept re-trialling the names over and over again in attempt to get different matches, yet it never changed. Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

In the end the government figured out there was no glitch in the system... there was a glitch in the people. Chanyeol and Baekhyun went down in history for being executed due to their misfortune of being matched as same-sex soulmates, and shortly after Hyejin and Wheein suffered a similar fate.

She could never tell Chaeyoung about her feelings. Not just because she was afraid of judgement, but also because Chaeyoung was a matchmaker and had a legal obligation for holding a feeling with any resemblance to love towards someone that wasn't her soulmate... someone of the same sex, especially.

"Yeah, you're right." Lisa put on a small smile, trying her hardest not to crack under Chaeyoung's scrutinizing stare, "I'm just still a little shaken up by the whole situation. I mean, I really thought we could get justice for Jihyo, but all Hyuna wanted to do was cover up the Psyches' actions."

Chaeyoung shrugged, "Same with Hyojong, but hey, at least we know the truth."

"Do you... do you ever wonder if─"

A shrill ringing of Chaeyoung's phone interrupted Lisa mid-sentence, and the Thai let out a silent breath of relief. She was thankful that something had stopped her before she ruined her life by finishing that sentence, because she wouldn't have stopped if she wasn't interrupted.

"Sorry, let me just get this."

Chaeyoung answered the phone, her eyes darting around in annoyance as someone yelled at her from over the line, "Yes sir. I understand. No sir, I'm sorry for my actions. It won't happen again... sir. I promise. Okay. I'll be in tomorrow. Bye."

She hung up with a huff, shoving her phone roughly into her back pocket, "Well somebody called the higher-ups at Cupid's Game and told them about what happened, so I guess I'll be getting my ass chewed out by Mr Park tomorrow."

They both knew that it had been upon Hyuna and Hyojong's words, but that didn't need to be voiced at that very moment.

The walk back to their shared apartment was stiff, the only conversation consisting of what they should have for dinner when they got back. Lisa wasn't a very good cook, and Chaeyoung wasn't much better, but they made it work. They had to if they wanted to survive.

It was pitch black outside when the two finally stepped into their dingy home. Chaeyoung flicked the lights on and they buzzed lowly, the bulb clearly on its last legs as it struggled to even light up a single room.

Lisa shrugged her coat off her shoulders and hung it up by the door, watching from the corner of her eye as Chaeyoung kicked her shoes off. Should she ask? Well, she had every right to be curious, but it was a bit of a strange question. What if it had just been a mistake and there was no prior relationship at all?

"Hey, Chae."

"Hm?" Chaeyoung gave Lisa a dismissive look as she unbuttoned the cuffs of her blouse, relieved upon having full movement of her wrists back.

"What was that thing between you and that cop, um─" Lisa paused, trying to act as though the name wasn't permanently engraved into her mind, "Jennie? I think that was her name: I can't be certain."

Chaeyoung tilted her head, a curious pout growing on her face, "I don't know, to be honest. I've never seen her before."

"Your account is on private, right?"

"Yeah. Right."

Chaeyoung didn't exactly plan on telling Lisa about her other account: the account where she ranted about how she wanted Kim Jisoo to run her over; the account where she vented about how she was in love with someone of the same sex... someone that would never be her soulmate.


	4. GODDESS

Ethereal.

If you were to ask any single person on this planet how to describe Kim Jisoo, South Korea's most esteemed actor, that is what they would say. In fact, if you were to ask Earth as a collective the response would most likely remain the same.

Kim Jisoo knew this─ she used it to her advantage. In every film she starred in she'd request a special scene just to drive the fans crazy, and it always worked. Imagine Me & You, a film she starred in about the unsuspecting love that blossomed between a newlywed woman and her florist.

The idea of a same sex couple starring in it had always been there, but Jisoo's added idea of the iconic football scene had brought it all together. After that her female fanbase had nearly tripled and her male numbers had (sickeningly) doubled. Yes, you read that correctly: despite the execution of same-sex soulmates, South Korean media and men─ in particular─ still loved to fetishize lesbians.

Whilst Jisoo hated the idea of doing anything that remotely resembled sex (even if acting) with someone that wasn't her soulmate, she did it for the fans. And the numbers... but mostly for the fans.

She often dreamt of who her soulmate would be: what he would look like, what he would be like, if he would be another actor or someone else of importance. Despite the fact that she was twenty three (two years over the age she was supposed to find out her soulmate) she had not yet been told who she was destined to spend the rest of her life with. She had asked her company more times than she could count, but they had always replied with the same 'We have to wait for the right time; you're not just some normal person. These things need planning'.

Jisoo scoffed at the words every single time she heard them─ yet there was nothing to do. So instead she was forced to use her imagination to create her own soulmate. He was tall and strikingly handsome with slightly tanned skin and a cutting jawline. His eyes were narrow yet held so much life and love, despite the cold looks he had. His lips were plump and his raven hair was styled to perfection; he was her own, personal, Ken doll.

"I'm bored."

She turned to her younger brother, seeing him scrolling mindlessly through his phone as if he were a robot. He didn't look very bored, to be honest, but Jisoo had never been the best at reading people's emotions: especially not her own.

"Can't you play mario on that, or something?"

Another thing Jisoo wasn't the best with was technology. According to her twitter replies she had the looks of a twenty-something year old super model, the brain of a genius, and the technological capabilities of a senile woman that had escaped the care-home. God, twitter was a brutally-honest place.

Her brother, Eunwoo, gave her the 'are you serious?' look before turning back to his phone and not saying another word. Jisoo let out an unimpressed huff as she folded her arms and looked away, wondering why she even had to go to her brother's parents evening anyway.

It wasn't like her parents were busy: they just couldn't be bothered to drag their asses out the house for their son. It had been that way even when Jisoo was a teenager, except back then she didn't have an older sibling who could be the replacement. She often ended up going by herself─ or not going at all─ and then getting shouted at by her teachers for not turning up.

She watched the clock tick forward, bellowing a mind-numbing squeak with every passing second, and found herself lost in her mind until the classroom door opened and a mother and her son walked out. He hadn't done very well, Jisoo assumed, as his mother was scolding him and dragging him out of the building by his ear.

Maybe it had been best her parents had never came or else Jisoo may have been in a similar situation all those years ago (when she could actually be bothered to leave the house into the freezing cold and walk all the way to school).

Her brother's teacher poked her head out the door, a bright smile on her face as she gestured for the two to come in. Jisoo rose with a similar expression, smacking Eunwoo lightly around the side of his head to get him to pay attention and actually listen. He shot up from his seat upon the contact, following his sister into the classroom without another word.

They took a seat in front of his teacher, Jisoo adjusting herself under the uncomfortable gaze of the woman. Eunwoo sighed, wishing that he'd never asked his sister to come: he should've known this would happen. Everytime he went out with Jisoo heads would turn and whispers would follow along with crazy fans begging for autographs and pictures, why would his teacher be the exception?

"Well, I'm Miss Yeon. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Kim, I'm a big fan." Miss Yeon beamed at Jisoo, evidently excited by being in the presence of South Korea's sweetheart and main claim to fame.

Jisoo chuckled awkwardly, her eyes darting to Eunwoo before swiftly returning to the woman infront of her, "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Yeon: Eunwoo speaks very highly of you at home─" He didn't, but Jisoo just wanted to be nice, "And please call me Jisoo; Miss Kim is reserved for my mother."

Miss Yeon's eyes widened and a heavy blush rose to her cheeks. She managed to stammer out, "W─Well, in that case, please call me Yunmi." She averted her gaze and grabbed a piece of paper, scanning over it, "Well, we're here to talk about Eunwoo and his schoolwork."

"Right. How's he doing?"

Sighing, Yunmi shook her head lightly. She directed a stern look at Eunwoo, letting her eyes soften when they landed back on Jisoo, "He's slacking." She turned back to Eunwoo, "You've been falling behind on homework, Eunwoo, and I've been kind enough to look past it once or twice and give you extensions, but it's getting ridiculous."

Eunwoo's head dropped and he nodded weakly, feeling Jisoo's gaze burning into him, "I know. Sorry, Miss."

"Would you care to explain yourself?"

Jisoo shuffled in her seat, turning her body slightly so that she was facing her brother. She lifted her leg and crossed it over the other, her foot hanging just above the ground, and spoke, "Yeah, Eunwoo, would you like to explain yourself? This is the first I'm hearing of this."

"I just don't want to do it." Eunwoo shrugged, as if it was the simplest thing in the world, "School is stupid, anyways."

"Eunwoo!" Jisoo barked, "You can't just say stuff like that."

Yunmi laughed softly, "It's okay, Jisoo, I hear it more often than you might think: just never usually from Eunwoo. Let's move onto a different subject, okay? Something more positive."

Her eyes roamed the sheet of paper once again and her face lit up, "I hear he's been doing very well in music and drama. Miss Lee says she was very impressed with the piece you composed, and according to Mr Ki your performance of Romeo and Juliet , alongside Minho, was incredibly moving."

Jisoo smiled with pride, reaching out and patting Eunwoo on the back, "That's awesome. I'm glad he's doing well in the arts."

The conversation carried on for ten or so minutes more, Yunmi and Jisoo continuing to discuss Eunwoo's progress as the boy himself chimed in once or twice, before it was time to go. Jisoo shook Yunmi's hand and quickly escorted Eunwoo out the building, thankful to be away from the older woman's stare.

"You think she was a fan?" She asked jokingly.

Eunwoo scoffed, "You kidding? All she does it talk about you during lessons, and that was even before she found out I was your brother. In every powerpoint she does she puts a picture of you on it or makes you the example, and that was more like a Jisoo Evening than anything."

"Really?"

"Yeah, your fans are crazy, Soo. She's not even the worst of them."

Jisoo chuckled dryly─ she knew that her fans were insane. The memory that stood out the most was probably when she was approached in the middle of the shopping mall by a group of young men, eaching claiming that she was all of their soulmates. Of course she had known it was untrue: there was no immediate spark that was written about in all the books she had read.

She was waiting for that moment where she laid eyes upon the man of her dreams (tall with a strong appearance but a kind smile) and her heart burst into flames. Only then would she know, for sure, that they were soulmates─ no matter what the test said.

It was a ridiculous thought, for Jisoo to ever consider going against the test, and she laughed it off immediately. Eunwoo looked at her in confusion but quickly brushed it off as he soon found himself distracted with his phone.

Kids these days are so dumb.

"Alright, I'm gonna drop you off at mom and dad's; I've gotta go back to the YG building for a meeting with Mr Yang."

Eunwoo mumbled an 'okay' as the two climbed into Jisoo's car and buckled up.

The drive back to her parents' house was incredibly short, making Jisoo wonder once again why they couldn't be bothered to walk for ten minutes and find out how their son was doing. Then again, they had always been like that.

She waved goodbye to Eunwoo as he stepped out the car, his eyes still glued to his phone, and promises of seeing him soon slipped off her tongue. Most of them would turn out to be lies, but Jisoo really did wish to see her brother more often. Her job took up the majority of her time but she wouldn't trade it for the world.

The drive to the YG building was much longer, however. Her heart was in her stomach as it jittered uncontrollably, her mind going a million miles an hour as she tried to think of why she would be called for a meeting so last minute.

Jisoo had been planning to take Eunwoo out for dinner if the evening went well, yet yesterday she had gotten a call from her manager out of the blue demanding she needed to come to a meeting. So here she was, wondering whether she was about to be fired or praised.

Either way, something about this entire situation didn't feel right.


End file.
